By COLlive reporter
Despite most elected officials returning to their home states for the weekend, the annual lighting ceremony of the National Menorah in front of the White House this Sunday is attracting a record crowd.
Hours before Shabbos, Chabad rabbis in Washington, DC, were trying to secure 1,000 more seats and coordinate the expansion of the event space on The Ellipse, where the menorah stands.
The lighting of this menorah is attended by thousands every year and seen via TV newscasts, internet feeds and other media by tens of millions across the nation and around the world.
“This is going to be the largest crowd by far,” said Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Executive Vice President of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), which the organizer of the National Menorah on The Ellipse.
The ceremony, to take place this Sunday, is one of the most prominent public Chanukah scenes in the world. The golden Menorah has become a premier national and even international symbol of the festival of Chanukah.
The event will feature a special performance by a 32 piece orchestra conducted by Avremi G of Brooklyn and accompanied by Grammy Award violinist Miri Ben Ari, the 8th Day Band and cantor Jeff Mandel.
Honored with lighting the National Menorah this year will be Adam Szubin, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. The event will be aired live on COLlive.com.
VIDEO: Check out this behind the scenes video of the National Menorah being set up in front of the White House
